Faithful Catholic or modern-day pharisee? Sometimes I might be a bit of both.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Your monitor might shatter...

...but here's a picture of me that my wife took today. We're updating a flier for a boxing circuit class that I just took over a few weeks ago. It's a combination of bag work, classical boxing training, and some mixed martial arts technique. Since I don't have some of the more impressive credentials that our previous instructor Gordon had (like this), I have to resort to cheap props (like my embroidered belt).

Actually, now that I think of it, that wasn't a cheap prop by any means—five years of work and four special trainings. If you haven't been to an SKA special training, you haven't really lived. (Okay, well, the Seal Adventure probably makes it pale in comparison.) Here's Norm Welch's story of his first special training. Mr. Welch is a godan (5th degree, a high level in SKA) in Vancouver, BC. I've gone to three special trainings with him. I remember remarking to him once that I hoped I was still training when I was his age. (He was in his late 40s, and I in my late 20s. And here I am at 42.) He laughed. I could have benefited when I was younger by embracing silence a little more frequently.

Wha?

I am a cradle Catholic who drifted away in my teens and wandered. My search
for truth led me to study comparative religion, New Age nonsense, and
philosophy. After 20 years as an agnostic, I came back to a faith that I never
really knew, but which I learn and love more daily. My restless heart now only
wishes to rest in Him. I have masters degrees in English and theology, black
belts in Shotokan karate (Ohshima) and Shaolin-Do kung fu, and classical
training in music that I've all but forgotten. I am a deacon for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise. This is a personal blog and does not represent the official views of my parish or diocese.

Coalition for Clarity

Coalition for Clarity

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